Effect of Hf doping on the dielectric properties of barium zirconate titanate ceramics

Pure and Hf-doped BaZr0.2Ti0.8O3 (short for BZT) ceramics are prepared by a conventional solid state reaction method. The crystal structure and dielectric properties of Hf-doped BZT ceramics have been investigated. The results indicate that Hf4+ ions have entered the unit cell maintaining the perovskite structure of solid solution and the pure and Hf-doped BZT ceramics are cubic phase. Addition of hafnium leads to the fall of the phase transition temperature and can decrease the dielectric loss of BZT ceramics at room temperature. When Hf content is more than 0.5 wt.%, the diffuseness of the phase transition enhances with the increasing of Hf content and when Hf content is 3 wt.%, the diffuseness of Hf-doped BZT ceramics is more than that of the pure BZT ceramics.